Chapter 24: Blocked by Someone

Jin Yue took a sip of soda with one hand and a bite of chips with the other, enjoying the romance movie on the screen.

The equipment in this room was really good, she didn’t even need to go to the cinema anymore; she could watch movies at home.

Unfortunately, the types of movies she liked were best watched in crowded theaters.

Jin Yue turned the volume up high and also activated the room’s soundproofing, so she couldn’t hear any noise from outside. She was unaware that someone had opened the door from the outside, causing a faint creaking sound.

Qi Bei, seeing the head popping up from the sofa in front of the screen, finally relaxed. The anxious expression on his face softened, and a look of indulgence replaced it.

Thinking about the moment he returned from his business trip and opened the door, only to find that Jin Yue wasn’t there, he had thought she had run away while he was away.

He was ready to give her a good spanking for always being naughty.

But then he noticed that the lights in the living room were on, which meant someone was home. She must have been in her room.

So, Qi Bei rushed to her room and opened the door, only to find it dark, and there was no one on the bed. She wasn’t there. His heart, which had just settled, suddenly tightened again.

The lights were on, but there was no one in the room. What if something had happened to her?

Qi Bei searched the entire house, checking every room, even the closets, but still didn’t find her. He was about to go outside and check the security cameras when he suddenly remembered there was still the home theater room on the third floor, which he hadn’t searched yet. So he came up to look for her.

And sure enough, there she was.

Qi Bei walked up to Jin Yue.

Since Jin Yue had turned off all the lights in her room to watch the movie, only the light from the screen illuminated the room.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of her, startling Jin Yue so much that she almost jumped out of her skin. The chips in her hand fell to the floor as she covered her head and screamed loudly, “A ghost!”

A light laugh escaped Qi Bei as he sat down on the sofa next to her.

However, seeing the chips scattered on the floor, he furrowed his brows and said in an annoyed tone, “I’m not at home, and you’re eating this junk food every day? Hmm?”

Jin Yue, still immersed in the shock, continued shouting “ghost” and “don’t come near me.”

Qi Bei gently moved her hands away from her head and said, “Look carefully, who do you think I am?”

The warmth from their connected hands transferred to Jin Yue, and she realized, “Huh? It’s warm, not a ghost.”

Only then did Jin Yue dare to look up. Oh, it was Qi Bei.

He sneaked in like that and scared her half to death. She pouted and scolded, “Why didn’t you knock when you came in? It’s so dark, were you trying to scare me to death?”

“Your volume was so loud. If I knocked, would you have heard it? And when I’m not home, you’re not just eating this junk food every day, right?”

Jin Yue, who hadn’t heard him the first time, heard Qi Bei repeat his words.

“What else can I do? You don’t think I can cook, do you?”

Jin Yue glanced at Qi Bei. She used to be a rich young lady, and after arriving here, her family had servants who cooked, so she didn’t need to do anything.

But after moving here, there was no one around. She tried to cook once, but realized she had no talent for it. So, she resorted to ordering takeout.

Qi Bei took a few napkins from the coffee table, frowned, and gently wiped Jin Yue’s small hands clean. Then, he picked her up and sat her on his lap. He said, “Sorry, I didn’t think of this. I’ll have someone bring in a cook tomorrow.”

He was usually very busy and didn’t live here much. Plus, he didn’t like having strangers living in his house, so he only hired part-time cleaners.

But now that Jin Yue had moved in, having someone to cook was a must.

“What are you doing, picking me up all the time? I want to watch the movie.”

Jin Yue was displeased. Did he think of her as a child?

She was 23 years old, after all. It was embarrassing to be picked up and carried around all the time.

“Stop messing around, let me rest for a while,” Qi Bei said softly, gently stroking her hair as he held her, resting his head on her shoulder.

He had been busy with work lately, hardly getting enough sleep, and after the tension of searching for her, he was feeling exhausted.

His breathing slowly slowed as he rested on her shoulder. Jin Yue’s heart softened, and she decided to let it go. Let him rest for a while; it wouldn’t hurt.

So, the two stayed like that until the movie ended. When the screen went dark and the room fell into darkness, Jin Yue finally woke Qi Bei.

After class that day, Jin Yue was walking along the campus path with her backpack. She had made plans to have dinner with Qian Shasha later.

After their last meeting at the café, Jin Yue had been so caught up with her issues with Qi Bei that she hadn’t had the time to contact Qian Shasha.

It wasn’t until Qi Bei went on a business trip that Jin Yue called Qian Shasha, only to find that Shasha had fully recovered and was now enthusiastically chasing after a handsome guy, constantly talking about how she was pursuing him and promising to bring him to Jin Yue once she succeeded.

Jin Yue couldn’t help but sigh at how carefree Shasha was, not knowing whether it was a good or bad thing.

Suddenly, someone violently grabbed her backpack. She looked up, only to see her bag thrown far to the ground.

Jin Yue then noticed a group of boys surrounding her, their faces menacing, glaring at her fiercely.

At a distance, a red-haired boy was lazily leaning against a tree, a blue earring in his left ear and a lollipop in his mouth. He was the one behind this, it seemed.

Who was this idiot? Wasn’t he done causing trouble yet?

Jin Yue’s temper flared. First, girls bullied her, now boys were too. Even random cannon fodder wanted to pick on her. Did they think she was an easy target?

She was, after all, a notorious villainess!

Even in the book, she had a name and fame! It was outrageous to be bullied like this!

Just as she was about to explode, the red-haired boy moved. The group of boys’ gazes turned even more menacing.

One, two, three, four, five—there were five of them, and she was all alone. Not good.

A wise man doesn’t pick a fight when the odds are against him. That’s her principle, Jin Yue thought. Whether she was scared or not didn’t matter.

Instead of blurting out “pick it up,” she quickly adjusted and asked, “Who are you guys? What do you want?”

The red-haired boy, Qi Tian, walked toward her, and the four boys surrounding her immediately parted to make way for him.

When he approached, Qi Tian sized up the girl in front of him. She looked scared but was still trying to act tough, her face pale and her lips pressed tightly together. He raised an eyebrow and mockingly asked, “You’re Jin Yue, right? I’m Qi Tian. Don’t you recognize me?”

She knew her name—this wasn’t a random person picking on her. It seemed like he was targeting her specifically, but she hadn’t offended anyone recently.

“Who’s Jin Yue? You’ve got the wrong person. My name’s Shen Jing. Jin Yue left school early today,” she said, pretending to be someone else.

Admitting she was Jin Yue? No way. Only a fool would do that.

And as for calling herself Shen Jing—yes, it was a little sneaky, but it worked.

Qi Tian didn’t expect that response and was momentarily stunned. He then scowled and slapped one of the boys beside him on the head. “Where is she? How did you mess this up?!”

Little Four was confused. He had clearly seen this girl before. Could it be that he had face blindness?

Scratching his head, Little Four took out a photo from his pocket and showed it to Qi Tian. “Boss, I didn’t get it wrong. She’s the one in the photo.”

The group of boys crowded around, curious to see the photo.

Big almond eyes, a tear mole—though her hair and makeup were different, the features clearly matched. Little Four probably hadn’t made a mistake this time.

When they looked back, the girl who had just been there had disappeared. Even the backpack she had thrown on the ground was gone.

They immediately realized they had been tricked by Jin Yue.

“You bunch of idiots! Go after her right now!” Qi Tian kicked Little Four in the butt and commanded the group.